Employees of public institutions under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport have faced multiple disciplinary actions for economic misconduct, including using corporate cards for family meals and accepting bribes from suppliers in exchange for contract information.
On October 2, Rep. Bok Gi-wang of the Democratic Party analyzed disciplinary records from 17 public institutions under the ministry, revealing a total of 52 cases of economic misconduct from January 2024 to May 2026. Of these, 18 cases occurred in the last nine months since September of last year.
The Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) reported the highest number of cases, with 20 incidents (38.5%). The Korea National Railway Corporation and the Korea Land Information Corporation (LX), along with Korail Networks, each had six cases.
In terms of misconduct types, the acceptance of bribes and gifts accounted for 29 cases (55.8%), while misuse and embezzlement of public funds totaled 10 cases, unauthorized dual employment accounted for seven cases, and improper receipt of salaries and allowances made up six cases.
The severity of the penalties was significant, with 38 out of the 52 cases (73.1%) resulting in severe disciplinary actions. Although economic misconduct represented only 7.1% of the total 734 disciplinary actions during the same period, it accounted for 13 out of 27 dismissals (48.1%). Economic misconduct was detected in 11 of the 17 institutions investigated.
For instance, a manager at LH received 10 million won from a supplier in exchange for contract information. Another employee borrowed 33.99 million won interest-free from a different supplier over nine occasions, saving approximately 4.98 million won in interest costs.
Additionally, a team leader at LH used a corporate card to pay a total of 15.84 million won for 77 meals with family and friends at local restaurants and cafes from 2021 to March 2024. Both employees were dismissed.
In another case, a deputy at the Korea Expressway Corporation was fired for accepting 1.7 million won in exchange for providing stock investment information to two colleagues and one civilian.
Conversely, some officials at the Korea National Railway Corporation received relatively lenient penalties. One director was found to have accepted golf expenses from a business associate while using a pseudonym in the golf course registration book and covering part of his license plate with white tape to conceal his identity; he received a two-month salary reduction in February.
In May, a department head who misused 770,000 won of the corporation's budget and issued improper directives to employees, along with a manager who embezzled 1.5 million won from the purchasing budget, were both placed on one-month suspensions after being caught in a government audit.
Rep. Bok stated, "Economic misconduct in public institutions is an act of stealing taxpayer money and public trust. To prevent disheartened honest employees, we must establish a zero-tolerance policy where any instance of bribery or embezzlement results in immediate dismissal."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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